PSG and Juventus end long wait for quarter-final places

March 07, 2013 09:18 IST

Paris St Germain squeezed past Valencia and Juventus saw off Celtic to reach the Champions League quarter-finals after long absences on Wednesday, joining Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the last eight.

PSG made it through to the quarters for the first time in 18 seasons but were pushed all the way by Valencia, who lost the first leg 2-1 at home but levelled the last-16 tie on aggregate with a stunning long-range shot from Brazilian Jonas after 55 minutes.

However, PSG equalised after 66 minutes when Argentine Ezequiel Lavezzi scored when the ball rebounded back from goalkeeper Vicente Guaita who saved his first shot after good running from Kevin Gameiro.

One disappointment for the crowd at the Parc des Princes was the non-appearance of former England captain David Beckham, who was named among the substitutes by coach Carlo Ancelotti but not used.

Twice winners Juventus, 3-0 ahead from the first leg in Glasgow, beat 1967 champions Celtic 2-0 on a rainy night in Turin as goals from Alessandro Matri and Fabio Quagliarella gave them a 5-0 aggregate success and a place in the last eight for the first time since 2006.

They also stretched their unbeaten run in all European games to 18 matches.

Celtic had little hope of overturning the deficit, but their fans never stopped cheering and supporting their side to create a great atmosphere at the Juventus Stadium.

Real Madrid reached the last eight on Tuesday when they beat Manchester United 3-2 on aggregate and Borussia Dortmund completed a 5-2 aggregate win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

The four remaining quarter-final places will be decided next week when Barcelona play AC Milan and Schalke 04 face Galatasaray on Tuesday. Malaga meet Porto and Bayern Munich take on Arsenal on Wednesday.